About 4 years ago - I felt it was time to treat myself and I bought a white gold Esquire watch. I found it in the store - Loved the look of it and I bought it. About 6 months later the second hand stopped functioning, however, because it was Swiss it needed to be shipped back to Switzerland and I waited the 2-3 weeks for the watches return. Not bad I thought – until it happened two more times.

Convinced by my girlfriend (now wife) that this was a rare one off – just bad luck but felt I wasted my money I stretched to a fossil watch “kinetic” powered. It was a nice watch to look at, as all the background moved etc. - It was impressive looking. Until it died 3 months later ...

In the end – I will never be without a cell phone and thus never truly in a situation that makes a watch 100% required. Seemed silly to spend all this money on such a disposable fashion statement.

The thing is, i don't want a replica because i want to pretend that it is the genuine watch or for the thrill that i would be violating a trademark it is because i like the design. I am very fussy when it comes to watches, i want to be able have all 1-12 numbers on the dial, a nice font, a black background, the date and several other things which i find very difficult to find. Omega tend to be the watches i like the design of. I don't care which brand it is, as long as it looks nice, is comfortable, less than £100 delivered and is reliable i'd buy it.

About 4 years ago - I felt it was time to treat myself and I bought a white gold Esquire watch. I found it in the store - Loved the look of it and I bought it. About 6 months later the second hand stopped functioning, however, because it was Swiss it needed to be shipped back to Switzerland and I waited the 2-3 weeks for the watches return. Not bad I thought – until it happened two more times.

Convinced by my girlfriend (now wife) that this was a rare one off – just bad luck but felt I wasted my money I stretched to a fossil watch “kinetic” powered. It was a nice watch to look at, as all the background moved etc. - It was impressive looking. Until it died 3 months later ...

In the end – I will never be without a cell phone and thus never truly in a situation that makes a watch 100% required. Seemed silly to spend all this money on such a disposable fashion statement.

This is biased of course but never looked back.

That's the problem with cheap watches, they never last, gotta pay for quality, or might as well buy a cheapo $5 digital watch off the street corner

That's the problem with cheap watches, they never last, gotta pay for quality, or might as well buy a cheapo $5 digital watch off the street corner

yes was going to say.. are either of those two you mention even over £150?

@tim_s - Add another zero and try again

Sorry, I don't agree. Affordable watches do last. There are many sub £150 ($250) watches that are good. I'm speaking mainly about mechanical watches. (I put all quartz on the same page.) Many Seiko's/Citizen's come well under and up to that price range and I don't think anyone has a leg to stand on if they say they are crap and wont last. Seiko 5's come under £50 ($80). Orient is another affordable watch company. They have 'Swiss Made' affordable watches such as Swiss Legend. Fossil uses the exact same movement as well as several other brands such as Zodiac but, unlike Fossil and Swiss Legend, they charge several times more using the exact same movement. (The controversy surrounding the cl-888 movement is a story for another time, or just google it)

Bottom line, many affordable watches are not cheap toys that will break in a week, they will last. I'm not saying affordable watches are on par with watches that are hundreds if not thousands more, though sometimes they may be, the point is price is not always an indicator of better quality. When you go up the price scale it becomes more about fit and finish, how well is the movement decorated, whether it is decorated by hand, precious metals used, brand etc... and not a question of whether the watch will last that much longer. I think most times, people care only about the country of origin rather than the merits of the watch itself.

Hey ladies and gentlemen, I have a question for you. I have not worn a watch since I was a young lad and I have very little knowledge of them (there is more to them than I had thought, wow). Basically, I am looking for an atomic watch that I can wear everywhere (including the gym). Hopefully affordable and sweat resistant. I don't really like the idea of having a $300+ watch on me, not sure why. I don't need all the bells and whistles but I do like the idea of atomic watches. I don't need thirty gauges and whatnot, just something that tells the time and date. Could somebody point me in the right direction?

my Seiko perpetual Calendar is more accurate than any other watch, including my phones, it's now over 10 years old and the only times I have to adjust it is because of the stupid summer time (DST) and then I just move it an hour forward or back, not bothering to check other clocks. and by the time I have to have it in to change the battery ever 5-6 years, it's still as accurate as the day I got it back from last change.

it's also not a flashy watch, it's a simple titanium watch, with a nice blue backround that the light plays on in a cool way.

an atomic clock is just a clock that auto adjust from a radio signal(ping) from the atomic clocks around the world anyway, If you buy a quality clock it doesn't need such silly gimmicks, it'll be accurate until you need to change the battery anyway, most likely atomic clocks use cheaper less accurate insides simply because they don't need better.

Don't worry how it works or such, just look at watches in your price range and pick one that you like the looks of. Don't over think it or buy it because you want a tech gadget. a watch is not a tech gadget, it's a tool, a simple tool that should work no matter what, and that should look good, for you, doing it.